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Today's featured article The Galápagos tortoise is the largest living species of tortoise and 10th-heaviest living reptile. With life spans in the wild of over 100 years, it is one of the longest-lived vertebrates. The tortoise is native to seven of the Galápagos Islands, a volcanic archipelago about 1,000 km (620 mi) west of the Ecuadorian mainland. Shell size and shape vary between populations; these differences helped Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution. Tortoise numbers declined from over 250,000 in the 16th century to a low of around 3,000 in the 1970s. The decline was caused by hunting for tortoise meat and oil, habitat clearance for agriculture, and introduction of non-native animals such as rats, goats, and pigs. Ten subspecies of the original fifteen survive in the wild. An eleventh subspecies has only a single known living individual, in captivity, nicknamed Lonesome George. Conservation efforts beginning in the 20th century have resulted in thousands of captive-bred juveniles being released onto their home islands, and it is estimated that numbers exceeded 19,000 at the start of the 21st century. Despite this rebound, the species as a whole is classified as "Vulnerable" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). (more...) Recently featured: Turok: Dinosaur Hunter – Everglades National Park – Black Francis Did you know... From Wikipedia's newest content: ... that seven men died when LV-117 (pictured), the Nantucket lightship, was rammed and sunk on 14 May 1934 by RMS Olympic, sister ship of the lost Titanic? ... that Peter Feldmann is the first politician of the Jewish faith to be elected mayor of Frankfurt since World War II? ... that following the 1973 Toulouse congress of PSOE a group of veteran Spanish socialists organized the "Historical" UGT, claiming to represent the original UGT trade union? ... that the first captain of Titanic was Captain Haddock? ... that over 10% of Slovenia's population participated in each of the volunteer cleanups organized by the Ecologists Without Borders association, the Let's Clean Slovenia in One Day! in 2010 and this year's Let's Clean Slovenia 2012? ... that the Glover Prize, though limited to depictions of Tasmania, is the richest art award for landscape painting in Australia? ... that baseball outfielder Adam Eaton received USD $120,000 meant for the retired pitcher of the same name?

In the news The rocket carrying Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, explodes shortly after launch. Mutinous soldiers take control of Guinea-Bissau's capital Bissau, amid an early presidential election. The ruling Saenuri Party, led by Park Geun-hye (pictured), retains its majority in the National Assembly of South Korea. An 8.6-magnitude earthquake strikes 430 km (270 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, initially prompting tsunami warnings across the Indian Ocean. American golfer Bubba Watson wins the Masters Tournament. Joyce Banda is sworn in as the President of Malawi, following the death of Bingu wa Mutharika. On this day... April 14: Holy Saturday (Eastern Christianity, 2012); Easter Saturday (Western Christianity, 2012); N'Ko Alphabet Day in West Africa; Day of the Georgian language in Georgia (1978) 966 – After his marriage to the Christian Dobrawa of Bohemia, the pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converted to Christianity, an event considered to be the founding of the Polish state. 1828 – Lexicographer Noah Webster copyrighted the first edition of his dictionary of American English. 1909 – Following a military revolt against the constitutional government, a mob began a massacre of Armenians in Adana Vilayet, Ottoman Empire. 1927 – The first Volvo automobile was built in the factory in Hisingen, Gothenburg, Sweden. 1956 – The use of 2-inch quadruplex (example pictured), the first practical and commercially successful videotape format, was first demonstrated in public. 2010 – Nearly 2,700 people were killed in a magnitude 6.9 Mw earthquake in Yushu, Qinghai, China. More anniversaries: April 13 – April 14 – April 15 It is now April 14, 2012 (UTC) – Refresh this page

Today's featured picture The Metallic Ringtail (Austrolestes cingulatus) is an Australian species of damselfly, so named because of its glossy metallic colouration and the "rings" on each abdominal segment. It is widely distributed in Tasmania, Victoria, eastern New South Wales and south eastern Queensland. Photo: JJ Harrison Recently featured: Vertical replenishment – Scandium – Meleager and Atalanta hunt the Calydonian Boar

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